Posts Tagged ‘Indiana Pacers’

February 5, 2015 · 4:00PM

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Larry Birdcracked open the door Tuesday on injured All-Star Paul George returning to action for the Indiana Pacers this season, but 48 hours later, George didn’t exactly barge through it.

George sounded more tentative than irrationally exuberant about the prospect of playing late in this 2014-15 season and (if the Pacers qualify) the playoffs when he spoke with media in Indianapolis Thursday. That might reflect a sense of mortality George could be feeling after the gruesome leg fractures he suffered Aug. 1 in a Team USA scrimmage or he could be parroting much of the medical and Pacers’ front-office advice he’s been hearing over the past six months.

Or maybe he’s been on the phone during his hiatus with Derrick Rose.

From what George said, he and the Pacers are hopeful he can start practicing full speed with his teammates by March 1, the target date for his open tibia-fibula fractures to be healed. Beyond that, how his body reacts and Indiana’s position in the standings likely will determine his return to games. The Indianapolis Star reported on George’s measured approach:

George said he’s uncertain if he will be able to play this season, but he wants to.

“Ideally, that’s a great time where I want to be back. Obviously I’m a long shot away from it,” George said. “I’ve got so many steps to get to that point but looking forward that’s (March) when I want to be back.”

George said he has participated in 3-on-3 half-court drills, but hasn’t played in a full scrimmage, and has not taken part in contact drills.

“I don’t want to come back too soon and be out there and have a chance to re-injure … I want it to be fully right,” he said.

At 18-32, Indiana is 12th in the Eastern Conference, 3.5 games behind No. 8 Miami for the East’s final playoff berth. Bird and others in the organization have had their eyes on the postseason throughout, even after George’s injury and Lance Stephenson‘s departure in free agency. The Pacers were considered a championship contender the past two season and have made four consecutive playoff appearances, after a four-year drought. Prior to 2006-07, the team had qualified in 16 of 17 seasons.

Whether a return even for just one round is feasible might swing on George’s return. But Bird and Pacers ownership might tip their hands before that, with the NBA trade deadline set for Feb. 19. For instance, if Indiana were to move veteran forward David West, who has attracted interest from contenders, or another rotation player, it might signal a shift in the franchise’s focus to 2015-16.

February 3, 2015 · 1:52PM

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HANG TIME BIG CITY — At the All-Star break one season ago, the Indiana Pacers were the toast of the Association. They had begun the season with an 18-2 run, and sprinted to the top of the Eastern Conference, earning Pacers coach Frank Vogel a gig coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

From there, however, you could argue it’s mostly been downhill. Following the All-Star break, the Pacers lost focus and direction, and stumbled to a 16-14 second half. It speaks to how amazing they were before the break that they still finished the regular season 56-26. An injured Atlanta Hawks team pushed the Pacers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs, but they then rallied to make it to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were eliminated by the Heat.

Instead of the summer being a time to recharge and refresh, it turned into worst fears realized when All-Star guard Paul George fractured his leg in a Team USA scrimmage. That injury immediately lowered expectations this season, as the Pacers were no longer at the top looking down, but rather somewhere closer to the bottom looking up.

The Pacers have soldiered on without George, and using a balanced attack are currently 17-32, which in the Eastern Conference leaves them just 5 games out of a postseason berth. Understandably, the Pacers haven’t put a time frame on George’s return, although a recent video showed George on the floor and dunking during a practice session.

On Tuesday, Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird talked to the media and gave an update on all things Pacers.

Regarding George’s return, while acknowledging he doesn’t know when George will return, Bird left the door open on George seeing action again this season: “I always say if a player is ready to play, they gotta play. We’re not going to hold him back if he’s able to go out there and play.”

January 30, 2015 · 12:16PM

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HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder are fighting for the final playoff spot. And, unless the Dallas Mavericks continue to slide, two of those teams will miss the postseason.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, we’re going to have two playoff teams out of a group that includes …

The 19-27 Charlotte Hornets, who have the league’s worst offense outside of Philadelphia and are without Kemba Walker until at least mid-March.

The 18-27 Brooklyn Nets, who are looking to trade their three highest paid players and are 3-17 against teams currently over .500.

The 16-28 Boston Celtics, who have already traded two of their three highest paid players and just lost to the 8-37 Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 17-30 Detroit Pistons, who are 0-3 with a 20-point loss to the Sixers since losing Brandon Jennings for the season.

The 17-31 Indiana Pacers, who rank 28th offensively and are 2-8 in their last 10 games, with losses to the Sixers, Wolves, and Hornets.

Oof.

The good thing about the East is that there’s some fresh blood at the top. The top six teams in the standings won a total of one playoff series last year, so we’re going to have a lot of new faces in the conference semifinals.

But who will take those last two playoff spots? The numbers could help us with the forecast.

First, with apologies to Bill Parcells, let’s accept the notion that the standings don’t tell us everything about how well or how poorly a team has played.

Point differential is a better predictor of future success than wins and losses. And there’s a formula to calculate how many wins a team should have (“expected wins”) based on their point differential. That formula says that both the Pacers and Celtics should have about three more wins than they do.

Among the group of teams listed above, the Pistons, Heat and Hornets have played the toughest schedule thus far. But the Celtics aren’t fare behind. And going forward, the schedule favors the Pacers.

Indiana actually has more games remaining vs. teams that are currently at or above .500 than vs. teams that are below. But they have six more home games than road games and have 13 games left against teams that are playing the second night of a back-to-back.

When you adjust for those situations, the Pacers have the easiest schedule of the six teams that have between 17 and 20 wins in the East …

Of course, the Pacers are just 9-12 at home and just 4-7 against teams on the second night of back-to-back. As noted above, they’ve lost to both the Wolves and Sixers this month.

But when you take into account some bad luck in close games and a favorable future schedule, they have a decent chance of moving up from 12th to seventh or eighth.

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

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> We’re about one week past the halfway point of the season. Still plenty of ball to be played, so give me one bold prediction for the second half (the key word being “bold”).

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: The Clippers will make it out of the West to reach The Finals.And here’s a second bold prediction to bolster the first: They’ll acquire Kevin Garnett from Brooklyn one way or another (buyout by Nets?) to heighten their intensity and tighten their defense. Point guard Chris Paul is acutely aware of his window and his horizon, and he’ll draw out some of the Clippers’ untapped potential. This team will remember, too, how unfairly it got derailed last postseason.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: The Thunder do not make the playoffs. Since a seven-game win streak immediately upon Kevin Durant’s return to the lineup, OKC has struggled to find consistency and rhythm in its game. That’s a fatal flaw with little margin for error in a brutal Western Conference race.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: The Clippers lose in the first round of the playoffs. This is the ultimate in flawed crystal ball-ness because a lot will depend on the matchup, not just L.A. itself. But this is a hurting team, and that comes from someone who picked the Clips to win the West a season ago. They have so many ingredients to be good, even championship good, but the defense has taken a giant step backward and the bench is weak. There is still time to recover — and for me to change the pick once the opening series is set. But there is reason to be concerned.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: Bold: OKC won’t make the playoffs. Everyone keeps waiting for the Suns to falter, and yes they’re young and vulnerable to a degree. But even if the Suns do collapse, New Orleans will make it ahead of OKC. And of course, coach Scott Brooks will suffer as a result.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Come April 1, the Boston Celtics will be in the mix for a playoff spot. That might not be very bold considering the state of the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, but it’s bold considering the state of the Celtics (still in tear-down mode). They have the seventh best NetRtg (point differential per 100 possessions) in the East, having played the fourth toughest schedule. But they have a deflated record because they’re 8-16 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes. Still, having gone 3-2 on their trip West (with only Wednesday’s game in Minnesota remaining), they’re just a game in the loss column behind the eighth-place Hornets. They have an easier remaining schedule than Brooklyn, Charlotte or Detroit. And they have a positive point differential (plus-24) in almost 900 minutes with neither Jeff Green nor Rajon Rondo on the floor.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: The key word is “bold” which usually translates to “crazy” or at least “preposterous.” I can live with that. So here goes “bold;” Kevin Durant shakes off these toe, foot and ankle injuries and takes his All-Star snub personally and goes on a tear for the ages to claim his second straight MVP trophy,leads the Thunder to a playoff spot and then guides them through the Western Conference playoff chase all the way to The Finals. You said “bold,” right?

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: The Pacers will make the playoffs — which will be a big surprise, even in the horrid East, considering the injuries and hard times they have endured since last summer.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: The Cleveland Cavaliers will win the Eastern Conference. Right now the Cavs are a dozen losses behind the Hawks for the No. 1 spot in the East, but the bulk of Cleveland’s record belongs to the Cavs of LeBron James before he took that eight-game break. The Cavs are currently riding a seven-game win streak, all of which have been decisive wins. They’ve embraced an uptempo offense, James is playing like the MVP, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving seem more comfortable and new guys like J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov clearly fit in well. My bold prediction may fall flat and Cleveland may not be able to catch the one spot in the conference, but it’s clear the Cavs are back.

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No. 1:Knicks boggle Amare’s mind — The Knicks are bad. Historically bad. You’d have thought that reality might have set in on the bench and in the locker room weeks ago. Maybe it’s the pages on the calendar turning from the old year to the new, but the plunge to the bottom of the standings has hit veteran Amar’e Stoudemire in a way he didn’t expect. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com has the details:

“It’s beyond my imagination at this point,” he said Sunday before a 95-82 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that extended their losing streak to 11 games. “I never thought I’d see this. … This is definitely kind of mind-boggling.”
The Knicks (5-31) dropped their 21st of 22 and have the most losses in the NBA.

Carmelo Anthony missed his second straight game due to knee soreness. There was no clear timetable for his return.

“It’s a tragic thing,” said center Samuel Dalembert of the mounting losses. Though healthy enough to return, Dalembert did not play after missing three straight games with an ankle injury.

The Knicks are now one loss shy of tying the franchise mark of 12 straight defeats, last done in 1984-85. New York has already set the record for consecutive home losses. It was the team’s 10th straight loss at home.

Of course, this wasn’t how Stoudemire — who missed his fourth straight game due to knee soreness — envisioned what could be his final season in New York playing out.

When Stoudemire signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Knicks in the summer of 2010, he declared the team would return to relevance. He mostly delivered on that promise, helping New York reach the playoffs for three straight seasons.

But things have fallen apart this season. Now, in the last year of Stoudemire’s contract, it seems as if the only thing the team is competing for is a lottery position.

“When I first signed with New York, that wasn’t the game plan,” Stoudemire said. “… But the past is not here. And neither is the future, so we’ve got to deal with the now, and I think we’ve just got to continue to try to get better as a team and as players, try to keep improving.”

NEWS OF THE MORNING

No. 1:Rubio due back, well, one of these weeks — Despite the tendency of Web sites everywhere to gaze into their crystal balls and predict the future – about half of all sports reporting and four-fifths of all stock market coverage is all about guessing what will maybe, perhaps, happen – sometimes the future doesn’t cooperate. Which is why injured Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio is tired of talking about it, even in the short term. As Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported from Oakland Saturday, Rubio’s return from a severely sprained ankle has become too much of a guessing game for the team’s absent playmaker:

He is back running and now refuses to prognosticate the date of his return.

“I wish,” Rubio said Saturday when asked if he knows when he will play again. “I’ve been saying it’s two weeks for the last month. I don’t want to say anymore dates. I’ve been saying in two weeks I think I’ll be ready and two weeks go by and I still can’t play and I get mad. I don’t want to get in a bad mood again. I’m not going to ask for a date again. I go as my body will let me do.”

For now, he can run and he did so with teammates for the first time at Friday’s morning shootaround in Denver, where he participated full-court running the team’s offense.

He can run, but stopping is another matter.

“I can’t cut and if I’m running and I have to stop right away, I have to take two, three extra steps,” Rubio said before the Wolves’ 110-97 loss to Golden State. “It’s not going to work in the game. I need more of that [5-on-0 work]. It felt good. I want to feel great before I go to some contact.”

Rubio will have another magnetic resonance imaging exam taken of his ankle after the team returns home from this current three-game road trip. Wolves coach Flip Saunders said Saturday he is hopeful Rubio can advance to contact play — the next step toward a game return — if the image comes back clean.

That didn’t stop some from fuzzying up their estimates and claiming a “mid-January” return for Rubio. And if that doesn’t happen, there’s always the Magic 8 Ball.

***

No. 2:KG goes ‘Lance’ on Pacers’ West — Losing by 25 points ought to be embarrassing enough, but no, the Brooklyn Nets had to find a way to add to their foolishness Saturday. Early in the game, before things turned truly sour for the Nets in front of a sellout Barclays Center crowd, veteran forward Kevin Garnett lifted a move from the Lance Stephenson playbook – though it had nothing to do with offense, defense or the basketball itself. Garnett blew in Indiana forward David West‘s face, much like Stephenson did when the former Pacer blew in LeBron James‘ ear during the Eastern Conference finals last spring. West didn’t appreciate it and picked up a technical foul for shoving Garnett away, but the silly stunt ultimately achieved nothing. Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reported on West’s version, while Garnett left the arena without talking to reporters:

“Yeah, I didn’t like that,” West said. “I didn’t like that. I just know it was too close, and I didn’t like it. I don’t want to play those games. We are out there to play basketball, so let’s play basketball.

“Everyone’s kind of looking at me trying to figure out what made me push him. I told them he blew in my face … an aggressive blow at that.

“I think Lance’s was more sensual. That was an aggressive blow. I felt the, I don’t know what you call it … but it was just too much.”

While the Nets’ $12 million man was “blowing the game” in far too literal a fashion, their $19.8 million and $15.7 millon men – Deron Williams and Brook Lopez – were combining for just seven points off the bench and earning with underwhelming play the criticism that has come their way.

***

No. 3:Clippers’ bench earns its pine time — When a team’s bench can’t do its primary job – playing even or better when subbed in against the other team’s reserves – things can unravel fast. And that’s what happened to the Clippers when coach Doc Rivers went grasping for answers that weren’t there Saturday against the Toronto Raptors. As a result of poor play by L.A.’s second unit, Rivers’ starters wound up gasping for air. According to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, that had everything to do with Toronto’s game-grabbing 13-2 run in the fourth quarter:

Rivers acknowledged afterward that he should have taken his starters out earlier in the game to provide more flexibility in the fourth quarter.

Of course, it was easy to second-guess his decision not to mix and match starters and reserves late in the game the way things played out.

“The problem was, to keep them in the game we had to keep our starters in in the entire third quarter,” Rivers said. “Honestly, I don’t think it would have mattered. Blake [Griffin] had already played 12 straight minutes. Do we play him 15 when he’s already tired?”

The Clippers continue to receive little production from their bench besides the scoring of Jamal Crawford and energy plays provided by Glen Davis. Center-forward Spencer Hawes remains sidelined because of a bone bruise in his left knee and point guard Jordan Farmar, the team’s other key off-season acquisition, has made an impact in only a few games.

Rivers said he needed to simplify the offense to help the second unit become more productive. Crawford scored 20 points Saturday, but the seven other reserves who played combined for only 13 points.
…
Davis said optimizing the way the team integrates the starters with the reserves could help solve some of the issues.

“Doc’s got to figure out the rotation and see what we can do to help our team, especially giving the big guys rest because they’re playing a lot of minutes,” Davis said. “But being on the second team, you’ve got to be ready, you can’t make a mistake. That’s just what it is. You’re in there for short minutes and you can’t make a mistake and it’s hard to play like that but you’ve got to do it because those are your minutes.”

***

No. 4:Pierce sees end of Gang Green — Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett left more than a year ago, traded to Brooklyn prior to 2013-14. Ray Allen was gone before that, joining what at the time was the Boston Celtics’ arch rivals to chase a second ring in Miami. Coach Doc Rivers maneuvered his way to the West Coast. Now it’s Rajon Rondo who is gone from the Celtics’ parquet and Pierce couldn’t help but notice – and comment on what essentially was the end of a special era that began for them all in the summer of 2007. Here is some of what Boston Herald writer Steve Bulpett gathered Saturday in Washington, D.C., where Pierce makes his basketball home these days:

The timing of Rondo’s Dec. 18 trade to Dallas caught Pierce off-guard, but he knew this was a strong possibility once the Celts didn’t get in the running on Kevin Love and couldn’t find another impact player to pair with Rondo.

“I was a little bit surprised, especially because trade season starts close to All-Star or after All-Star break,” Pierce said. “Not a lot of trades happen in mid-December. You know, teams are trying to find their stride.

“But we had a chance to talk. We had our weekly mass text, and he understood the situation. The Celtics were either going to go in one direction, build around him, or continue with the youth movement. So I think Rondo understood it.

“I was shocked definitely, because I thought this was a year they were going to maybe this summer find some pieces to put around him. But he had a great run in Boston, and as long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.”
…
Pierce spent 15 years with the Celtics, but even he had to move along when the club traded him to Brooklyn in 2013 to begin its rebuilding phase.

“That’s the way it is,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a long time before you see one player stay with one team for 15-plus years. You know, I think those days are pretty much gone, especially with the new collective bargaining agreement, players wanting to be in different places or play with their friends. It’s just a new era I think we’re living in.”

In the days that have followed the Sacramento Kings’ surprising firing of coach Michael Malone, the only thing certain about where they go from here has been the uncertainty.

Tyrone Corbin was deemed the interim for the foreseeable future, though no one was quite sure how long that term might last. Longtime head coach George Karl was widely seen as a frontrunner to replace him, but his reported candidacy was followed by proverbial crickets. Golden State Warriors legend and current Kings advisor Chris Mullin was and remains an intriguing possibility, but early indications are that he won’t be taking on the head coaching title anytime soon.

Yet late Tuesday night at Sleep Train Arena, after the Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92, another possible candidate emerged in the most convenient of ways: former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson. After calling the game courtside for ESPN, Jackson had a lengthy meeting with Mullin, Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins inside the “Chairman’s Lounge” where they had requested that arena workers and others give them some privacy.

Jackson, Mullin, and Cousins entered the room at approximately 10:20 p.m. Pacific time, with Cousins sporting a black suit as he continues to recover from his bout with viral meningitis that has kept him out of action since Nov. 26. D’Alessandro joined them approximately 20 minutes into the meeting, and the group finally exited just before midnight, long after the room had been cleared so that they could have a moment to discuss, well, connect the dots yourself.

Or, of course, maybe it was just a couple of old childhood pals sharing stories with their Kings friends. Mullin and Jackson have been the best of friends since their high school days, when Jackson was coming up at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn and Mullin was a star at Power Memorial Academy in New York City. They played together at St. John’s University as well, then later spent three seasons side by side yet again with the Indiana Pacers (1997-2000).

What’s more, D’Alessandro was a video coordinator at St. John’s during Jackson’s senior season. Jackson, Mullin, and D’Alessandro have made a habit of visiting in this nature whenever their paths may cross, but the involvement of Cousins was certainly enough to warrant notice.

The Jackson possibility was previously known, and the dynamics on display leading up to their meeting said everything about why the Kings might be seriously interested in bringing him aboard. According to one of the participants, Cousins expressed a desire to meet Jackson, whose ability to connect with his players during the last three seasons with the Warriors was a very real and valuable part of his successes there.

NEWS OF THE MORNING

No. 1:Kings, Malone were a stylistic mismatch — Two days after the surprise firing of coach Michael Malone in Sacramento, we’re finally starting to get a few explanations. In a session yesterday with the media, Kings GM Pete D’Allesandro said it didn’t matter what Malone’s record was, it was more about the team’s style of play and philosophy. As Jason Jones writes in the Sacramento Bee…

Malone was a coaching disciple of defensive-minded Jeff Van Gundy and Malone’s father, Brendan, an assistant with the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons when they won NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.

But defense is not what the front office or ownership wants to sell to fans.

“It wasn’t about wins and losses,” D’Alessandro said. “I didn’t really care about what our record was. It’s about who we want to be, what we want our identity to be as a team.”

That vision is a team that plays a fast-paced offensive style Tyrone Corbin will try to implement as interim coach.

D’Alessandro would like to see the Kings play like the Rick Adelman-coached Sacramento teams more than a decade ago, when they piled up wins with a dynamic offense – especially with the new downtown arena expected to open in 2016.

“What we’re trying to do is put a style in that reflects the Sacramento fan base, which to us is a free-flowing, up-and-down style of play,” D’Alessandro said. “That’s what we’re striving for; we have time now to install it before we get there. I think it’s going to ignite the arena when we’re playing with the style of play we intend to play with.”

Now the questions are whether the Kings, 11-13 overall and 2-7 without Cousins, have the players to make that style work and direct the team long term.

D’Alessandro wouldn’t commit to Corbin for the rest of the season, though he said Corbin has his support. The Kings are interested in veteran coach George Karl, an analyst for ESPN who was fired by Denver following the 2012-13 season, according to league sources. D’Alessandro worked with Karl in Denver.

Chris Mullin, a Hall of Fame player and an adviser to primary owner Vivek Ranadive, might be interested in the job, league sources said.

Until a permanent coach is hired, Corbin will have the challenge of changing the team’s style.

“It’s so new right now,” Corbin said. “I’m just trying to weather the storm right now and get these guys ready to play a game (Tuesday).”

***

No. 3:Bucks win thriller but lose Parker — On the one hand, it was a big night for the Milwaukee Bucks in the desert, as they battled the Phoenix Suns and won on a game-winning buzzer beater. But on the other hand, the Bucks had to play most of the second half without rookie of the year candidate and franchise building block Jabari Parker, who went down with a non-contact knee injury and wasn’t able to return. As Charles Gardner writes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…

Parker’s left knee buckled without contact as he made a drive in transition and he was unable to leave the floor under his own power. He was carried off the court by teammates Zaza Pachulia and Johnny O’Bryant.

“As of right now we don’t know anything. They’ll do all the tests tomorrow and we’ll be able to report something then,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said after the game.

Pachulia, who played a key role in the Bucks’ comeback victory, said all of Parker’s teammates were wishing him the best.

“I hope he’s going to be OK,” Pachulia said. “He’s a great young player. This team and this organization, the whole city counts on him. He has a lot of years ahead of him in his great career. Injuries are part of the game.

“I hope it’s not anything serious. We are all praying for him.

“It was tough to see your teammate going down and not being able to walk himself. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. The doctor is going to make a decision, obviously. But we want to him to have a speedy recovery, whatever it is. We really need him.”

Parker was driving to the basket but his knee gave way before he had mild contact with the Suns’ P.J. Tucker. A double foul was called on the play but there was little contact to merit that.

Jared Dudley said Parker “is the franchise.”

“He’s young; he’s a rookie,” Dudley said. “The good thing about it is he was smiling when he came in, so that’s always good. He was in, I don’t think it was a cast, but something where you couldn’t bend it, obviously.

“He’ll get an MRI. We’re hoping it’s just a sprain where you get him back in a couple weeks. You don’t want to have anything with him, so keep him in your prayers.”

***

No. 4:Blazers lose Lopez for ‘a while‘ — Meanwhile in Portland, the Blazers knocked off the defending champion Spurs, but in the process lost starting center Robin Lopez to a fractured hand. According to Portland coach Terry Stotts, Lopez will be out “a while,” and having to make do without Lopez is not something that the Blazers are relishing, writes Joe Freeman for The Oregonian…

“I don’t even want to think about having to play without RoLo,” All-Star point guard Damian Lillard said.

Lopez said he wasn’t sure how he suffered the injury, but it looked like he smacked his hand against the back of Boris Diaw‘s head while pursuing a rebound under the hoop. Lopez didn’t show any immediate pain or discomfort and he continued to play with the fracture for a few minutes. Eventually he was pulled from the game, however, and preliminary tests indicated that he fractured his hand in two places.

“At first I thought I just jammed a finger or something,” Lopez said. “I didn’t hear a pop and I didn’t feel any pain or anything. So I was just trying to shake it off. But as play went along, my hand never could regain any strength, so I figured I was more of a liability out there.”

The true liability lies in Lopez’s absence, particularly a lengthy one. In many ways, he’s the heart and soul of the Blazers’ starting lineup, a selfless, rugged, lane-clogging big man who is the unsung hero to their free-wheeling offense and linchpin to their improved defense. Lopez is averaging just 9.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, but his value is not measured solely in statistics. He’s the team’s best screener, best interior defender and most unselfish player.

How important is he to the Blazers’ success? They are 73-34 with him on the roster and last season — his first in Portland — he was an integral part of the first Blazers team in 14 years to win a playoff series.

“I don’t like it, I don’t like it, I don’t like it,” LaMarcus Aldridge said, when asked about the prospect of playing without Lopez. “That’s it. I can’t get past I don’t like it.

December 14, 2014 · 7:25PM

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HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – The honeymoon is over in Charlotte, apparently.

The Charlotte Hornets were supposed to be an improved team this season, with the addition of Lance Stephenson giving a boost to an offense which ranked 24th last season. But Charlotte has been the most disappointing team in the league thus far, having regressed on both ends of the floor.

The Hornets have played the toughest schedule in the Eastern Conference and Stephenson isn’t completely to blame for their 6-17 start. But he hasn’t fit in well and has shot just 39 percent (16 percent from 3-point range).

The Charlotte Hornets are targeting the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets as destinations to unload guard Lance Stephenson, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Stephenson becomes eligible to be traded on Monday, and Charlotte has rapidly lost hope that its brief partnership with Stephenson can stand the test of time.

Indiana hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back Stephenson, but appears unwilling to seriously engage the Hornets without the inclusion of a first-round pick in a potential deal, sources told Yahoo Sports.

So far, Charlotte has shown no inclination to package a future draft pick to move Stephenson, league executives told Yahoo Sports.

Although sources say no deal involving Stephenson is imminent, Monday is the first day that players signed to new contracts in July are eligible to be dealt, which typically triggers what teams leaguewide regard as “trade season” over the next two months leading into the annual February trade deadline.

One factor that could ultimately lead to a deal, despite Stephenson’s ragged and discouraging start, is the fact that the three-year, $27 million deal he received over the summer from Charlotte owner Michael Jordan is only guaranteed through next season. The third year of the deal is not guaranteed, which theoretically enhances Charlotte’s chances of finding another team willing to gamble ‎on the mercurial swingman.

Sources say that the Hornets are not in a move-him-at-all-costs mode with Stephenson but made it clear that Charlotte is ready now to abandon the experiment if a palatable deal presents itself.

December 11, 2014 · 2:03PM

HANG TIME BIG CITY — It’s time to get out the vote.

With about a quarter of the NBA season in the books, and the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend about two months away, voting begins today for the 2015 All-Star Game thanks to NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint…with a decidedly new twist.
For years, fans have been able to cast All-Star votes for most of their favorite NBA players. But this year, for the first time ever, they can vote for literally any NBA player. In years past the ballot contained 60 players from each conference who were determined by a panel of broadcasters and media members. While fans will continue to select two guards and three frontcourt players when selecting starters, with the new online ballot they have the ability to choose from the entire NBA player pool.

Another wrinkle new to the ballot is SAP, which will integrate daily stats into the online ballot. Fans will have the ability to sort players by their current stats from NBA.com/stats powered by SAP HANA.

Updating the official ballot on NBA.com to include all NBA players will complement the options afforded by the NBA’s all-digital voting program, which also includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SMS, NBA Game Time and NBA Game Time from Sprint applications, as well as Sina Weibo and Tencent Microblog in China. Balloting concludes on Monday, Jan. 19, and starters will be announced live on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 22, during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.com at 7 p.m. E.T.
Last season, LeBron James was the leading overall vote-getter with 1,416,419 votes, although this season he may see his voting power base shift from South Florida to Ohio. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second last season with 1,396,294 votes.

Although he didn’t play last season while recovering from Achilles tendon surgery, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has the chance to make his 17th All-Star roster, which would put him two games behind all-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

While this has been one of the most competitive early seasons in recent memory, there may not be much room for new All-Stars. Last season, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Paul Millsap and John Wall all made their All-Star debuts, and thus far this season, all would seem to be on paths toward returning. With so many incumbent All-Stars reprising their performances early on this year, it bears watching to see if a player like Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, who is currently tied for the lead league in rebounds per game at 12.6, will be able to play his way on to the roster. Similarly, Boston’s Rajon Rondo, a four-time All-Star who missed last season’s game while recovering from injury, currently leads the league at 10.8 assists per game.

At least one starting position on the Eastern Conference team will be up for grabs, as 2014 starter Paul George from the Indiana Pacers is out recovering from a fractured leg. Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan also made last season’s Eastern Conference roster as a reserve, but is currently out and hasn’t played since November 28 after suffering a torn tendon.

A strong contender for George’s starting spot may come from Cleveland. Last season, then-Minnesota forward Kevin Love was voted to the Western Conference starting line-up, but his off-season trade to Cleveland not only shifts his Conference allegiance, it also opens a starting spot for the Western Conference. Love narrowly beat out Houston’s Dwight Howard for that starting position in 2014.

The 64th NBA All-Star Game will be played in New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks, on Sunday, February 15, 2015. The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night — including the Sears Shooting Stars, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk — will be held at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets. The recently-debuted uniforms feature nods to all five boroughs of New York City.